Netflix adaptation of Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem faces scepticism from China’s sci-fi fans
- Netflix is turning the Hugo Award-winning The Three-Body Problem into an English-language show for the US streaming platform
- Separate film and anime adaptations of the sci-fi trilogy are also in the works in China
China’s most famous science fiction novel has been praised by the likes of former US President Barack Obama and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. But Chinese readers are still worried that a new adaptation announced by Netflix could be modified to better fit Western tastes.
Netflix said on Tuesday that it’s bringing an English-language adaptation of The Three-Body Problem to its streaming platform. The production team includes David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the co-creators of HBO’s widely popular Game of Thrones adaptation. Alexander Woo, best known for writing part of the HBO horror series True Blood, will also participate.
Liu Cixin, author of the original books and The Wandering Earth , will serve as a consulting producer along with Ken Liu, the English translator of the first and third books of the trilogy.
The announcement comes 12 years after the The Three-Body Problem was first published in China, kicking off the Remembrance of Earth‘s Past series. The novel portrays an impending invasion of Earth by an alien civilisation that has captured a signal sent by the Chinese military. It garnered global recognition when it was published in English in 2014 and went on to win the prestigious Hugo Award the next year.
News of various adaptations has surfaced repeatedly over the years, but no film or drama series has yet to materialise. Netflix said it obtained the rights for its adaptation from Yoozoo, the Shanghai-based game studio that’s had the dramatisation rights for years.
Back in 2015, Yoozoo announced that it wrapped filming on a Three-Body Problem movie with a release set for the following year. But five years on, it still hasn’t come out.
Any potential adaptation of the much-beloved novel has drawn scrutiny from protective fans, and Netflix’s production is no exception.
“Most of the main characters in The Three-Body Problem are Chinese,” a Weibo user wrote. “If [the show] doesn’t have Chinese people or scenes set in China, or if Chinese isn’t spoken, is it still authentic?”
“I think the odds are that Netflix’s adaptation will be crap,” another Weibo user said. “After all, the biggest reason The Three-Body Problem shocked people was that it brought a different perspective from mainstream Western values. Much of the content could only be understood and interpreted under the context of Chinese culture.”
“The screenwriters of Game of Thrones … this is over,” one disappointed fan wrote.
But some others said they welcome Netflix’s project.
“It doesn’t matter if The Three-Body Problem [show] isn’t the original Three-Body Problem. Just let go of the burden and enjoy it,” a Weibo user wrote.
It remains to be seen whether Netflix’s version will make it to China. The streaming service is currently unavailable in the country without a VPN and overseas subscription.
“If The Three-Body Problem was written today, would it become unpublishable?” one Weibo user asked.
“Such dark and incorrect values don’t fit the current publishing requirements, do they?”
